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Hiring & Recruiting in Mexico

All Countries > Mexico > Hiring & Recruiting in Mexico
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Capital

Mexico City

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Official Language

Spanish

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Currency

Mexican Peso

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Payroll cycle

Bi-monthly

Via offers complete Payroll, EOR and Contractor mangement services for Mexico
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Quick facts about Mexico

Located at the southern end of North America, Mexico is one of the most important economic partners to the United States and Canada. Mexico’s rich history and its ever growing economy has turned the country into an appealing destination for digital nomads. The country’s strong university system also makes Mexico one of the best places to recruit developers, marketers, and other knowledge workers.

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Hiring in Mexico has become a popular way to tap into the Latin American marketplace. 

When you hire in Mexico your business will have: 

  • Lower employer costs

  • Close proximity to the United States and the rest of North America 

  • Access to top talent

  • Reliable internet

  • Access to an educated workforce that is bilingual in both Spanish and English

What are the options to hire employees in Mexico?

To hire in Mexico from a different country (such as Colombia or the US), you have three options:

  • Outsource with a PEO

  • Partner with an EOR

  • Open a subsidiary

Opening an entity or subsidiary and building an internal HR team

If you’re looking to build out your team in Mexico and sell products in the country, it might be advantageous to open an entity or subsidiary. 

Although opening a subsidiary gives you the opportunity to tailor your business needs to Mexican culture, the process can be costly and expensive. 

You’ll need to: 

  • Set up a local branch with a local bank account

  • Register with local institutions like the Mexican social security department (IMSS)

  • Maintain a presence in the country

  • Find law partners 

  • Hire an accounting firm to run payroll 

  • Hire an internal HR team

Opening an entity and partnering with a PEO service

For companies that want to build a large team in another country and have their own entities, using a PEO solution service is one option. 

PEO companies act as co-employers and manage the HR process. However, they do not accept nearly as much legal responsibility for the entity in the country. If any compliance issues pop up, the PEO service will likely pass these problems over to the parent company. 

What does an EOR handle? 

An EOR is responsible for local HR processes, such as: 

  • Maintaining compliance with local employment laws and other regulations

  • Drafting compliantly employment contracts in the correct language

  • Managing payroll and taxes, including withholdings and deductions payments as well as things like 13th payments 

  • Administering local benefits, such as private health insurance and mental health resources

  • Administering profit sharing for employees (which is mandatory in Mexico) 

Recently, Via helped a startup in Mexico hire over 100 workers. The company needed to hire frontline workers as well as managers immediately, and didn’t have the time to wait 6-12 months for an entity set up. Via allowed this business to hire workers in 2-3 weeks total. 

To learn more about employer-of-record (EOR) providers in Mexico, visit our Mexico EOR page. 

Honorarios/Contractors

Mexican companies can also hire independent contractors, known as honorarios. Honorarios do not usually receive benefits such as private healthcare or stock options, since they are contracted to work on a specific project or offer a specific service.

When you hire a contractor in Mexico, you have to meet REPSE (Registry of Providers of Specialized Services or Specialized Works) requirements. You are only allowed to hire contractors that are registered on this database of specialized service providers. 

Independent contractors usually fit these parameters: 

  • Are they working in more than one specialized job area? 

  • Are they providing a specialized service that a full-time employee can’t?

  • Do they have their own ability to hire help? 

  • Do they have additional income(s)? 

If you partner with an EOR service, you can avoid misclassifying employees and compliance fines which normally include back payments and benefit payments.  

In this article, we’ll explore the hiring process, regardless of if you choose to partner with a Mexico EOR or PEO or open your own subsidiary. 

Where to find talent in Mexico?

If you’re looking to recruit top talent in Mexico, some of the most popular job boards to post listings in the country are: 

  • Opcionempleo 

  • TableroTrabajo

  • Bumeran

All three of the above job boards are excellent for finding talent for the digital landscape in Mexico, with Opiconemploe having over 200,000 monthly visitors throughout Latin America per month. 

At Via, we can help connect your business to local recruiters in Mexico that will help you hire workers, including executives.

Work study

Another great option for finding talent is to hire students who are enrolled in work-study programs. There are almost 1,250 universities in Mexico to choose from. 

Work-study programs in Mexico allow you to recruit new talent from students already enrolled in programs in Mexico, with the aim of eventually hiring them on as interns or full-time employees. 

Top work-study universities in Mexico: 

  • Metropolitan Autonomous University (Mexico City) 

  • Monterrey Institute of Technology (Monterrey) 

  • Autonomous University of Mexico State (Toluca)

When hiring talent, make sure your business offers competitive employee benefits in Mexico like 13th month pay, vacation, and premium health insurance outside the country’s social security system. An EOR partner can help you craft the perfect benefit packages to recruit top talent. 

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Employment laws you should know in Mexico

As a recruiter, you should be aware of the following employment laws that govern all employees in Mexico: 

  • Social Security Law

  • Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination

  • Federal Labor Law

Mexico labor laws at a glance: 

  • Minimum wage: The federal minimum wage in Mexico is 178.87 pesos per day. Closer to the Northern Mexico border, the minimum wage is 260.34 pesos per day

  • Working hours: Monday-Friday or Monday-Saturday 8am-6pm

  • Vacations: 12 days per year and a mandatory 6 days must be taken

  • Salary payments: Semi-monthly

What should an employment agreement contain? 

In Mexico, it’s important to distinguish between what type of contract an employee is working: indefinite (full-time), permanent, or contractor. 

All employment contracts in Mexico should include: 

  • Name and nationality

  • Employment period

  • Services provided by employee

  • Place(s) where work is provided

  • Salary

  • Vacation and benefits

Why companies partner with VIa

Via makes hiring talent around the world and building your global team seamless by helping you onboard workers in as little as 2-3 business days. With our easy-to-use platform, Via helps you manage local HR processes for direct employment such as work visas & permits, employee data privacy compliance, benefits, global payroll, background checks, and more. Our team of local labor lawyers and on-the-ground experts provide 24-hour local support and ensure that your company remains compliant while expanding abroad. As your employer-of-record/entity abroad, Via assumes responsibility for employment liability, so that you can focus on what matters: recruiting and managing your team.

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Frequently asked questions

  • Can I move to Mexico without a job?

    You can visit Mexico without a job if you’re trying to decide if moving to Mexico is the right fit for you. You will stay in the country for up to 180 days on a tourist visa. After that, you will need to obtain a work visa to stay in Mexico. To qualify for a work visa, you must be employed by a Mexican business or entity and complete all of the necessary paperwork.

  • Is it difficult to get a job in Mexico as a foreigner?

    It depends. Foreigners who do not speak Spanish and English might struggle to find employment. The most important part of finding a job in Mexico is remaining persistent and networking with locals.

  • What types of jobs are available in Mexico?

    As Mexico becomes more important to the global economy, more jobs in marketing, finance, technology, design, and business are popping up across the country. Finding the perfect role may take some time and effort, but there are plenty of job opportunities available to those wishing to work in Mexico.

  • As a Mexican, can I work remotely for a foreign company?

    Yes, Mexicans can work for a company based in a foreign country if the employee is based outside of Mexico. Unless the company has an entity in Mexico, they will need to be paid in foreign currency.

  • How can I hire labor in Mexico?

    To hire labor in Mexico, you can either set up an entity and hire employees yourself or use a global PEO or EOR service.

  • How can a foreigner get a job in Mexico?

    A foreigner can get a job in Mexico first by looking on job sites and ads. To obtain a job, however, you will need to have a work visa to live and work legally in the country.

  • Can a US company hire an employee in Mexico?

    Yes, a US company can hire an employee in Mexico. However, you will need to set up a legal entity in the country and fall all of the labor and employment regulations as well as pay the employee from a Mexican bank.

  • Are there job opportunities in Mexico?

    Yes, there are many job opportunities in Mexico as it has one of the highest tourism rates in the world. Many hospitality industries have job opportunities or teaching English in Mexico is another great job opportunity in the country.

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